Welcome tvshooter! I see you're from New Orleans. I'm from Alexandria, LA and also have an office and apartment in Denham Springs. You've come to the right place to learn about the iPad and it's accessories.
I have been here for a while and like Tim, I learn a whole lot each time I'm on here.
I have the ZaggMate keyboard setup which also covers the iPad when not in use. I HIGHLY recommend it if you will be using it for things like taking lots of notes in class or meetings, or typing Microsoft Office type documents. It works great as a keyboard, is the size of a typical iPad case when you're carrying it around, and has iPad specific keys, like the home button, turn screen on and off, volume, etc...
My other top accessory is the ZooGue case. I have two of them as I loaned one to my stepdad, and some of my coworkers gave me one as a gift when they saw me without one and knew how much I liked it. I use the ZooGue case when I'm just carrying the iPad around for general use or reading in bed, etc...
When I go to class, I use the ZaggMate because it stands the iPad on the desk and offers the keyboard. I use Notes Plus which allows me to take my notes with the keyboard or draw with the stylus on notebook paper, and also records audio of the lecture.